Atlanta Falcons

Noontime Sports the Podcast returned after a few week hiatus with guest Hayden Bird of Boston.com.

Bird joined host Matt Noonan to discuss his experience covering the Super Bowl during ‘Media Week,’ while also attempting to answer the question: Is Tom Brady the best quarterback in the National Football League (N.F.L.)?

If you’re a New England Patriots fan or just a die-hard football fan, then this is a must-listen to podcast!

In anticipation of this upcoming weekend’s Super Bowl between the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons, Noontime Sports the Podcast featured some quality pigskin chatter between host Matt Noonan and Andy Mahoney, who is the sports producer for BostonGlobe.com.

Mahoney gave his ‘two-cents’ on the Patriots-Falcons matchup, why there hasn’t been too much news (or noise) from the so-called ‘media week,’ while giving some thought to where New England would stand in Boston sports history if they earn a fifth championship.

Would they be better than the early 20th century Boston Red Sox or the Celtics of the 1960’s, 1970’s and 1980’s – let’s also not forget about the Green and White of 2008, too.

Either way, get pumped (or excited) for this weekend’s big game with a fun pre-Super Bowl podcast, while following Mahoney (@GlobeMahoney) and the Boston Globe Sports section (@BGlobeSports) on Twitter.

As noted in various publications over the past 24 hours – maybe 15-20 hours to be exact – Oakland Raiders punter Marquette King is planning to set-up a GoFundMe page following his horse-collar tackle on Sunday, which stopped Eric Weems and the Atlanta Falcons from registering a touchdown late in the second quarter.

The result of the play was a penalty – obviously, because it was a horse-collar tackle – and instead of scoring a touchdown on the ensuing possession, the Falcons settled for a Matt Bryant field goal.

No fine has been handed as of this morning, but that won’t stop King from setting-up a GoFundMe page so he can receive some assistance from Raider Nation.

I am not entirely sure King will need a great deal of assistance from his fans, especially since he recently inked his name on a five-year, $16.5 million contract.

If you do decide to pitch-in (or help King with his fine), please let us know!

Halloran isn’t the only local college football player to earn an invite to a rookie mini camp this weekend as Framingham State’s James Muirhead will attempt to earn a spot with the St. Louis Rams, while Middlebury College’s Ryan Moores, who prepped at Governor’s Academy, will tryout with the Atlanta Falcons.

Merrimack College’s Isaiah Voegeli became the fourth player in program history to sign with a professional team as the Hyannis native inked his name on an undrafted free agent contract Monday with the Philadelphia Eagles.

“I am so grateful for this opportunity,” Voegeli said in the college’s release. “I can’t thank head coach Dan Curran enough for his help and guidance and preparation to get me to this point. This is a dream come true that I’ve dreamt about since I was 7, to just have a shot and I’ve been blessed this opportunity.”

Voegeli will leave the North Andover campus as the all-time receiver in multiple receiving categories, which includes catches (211) and yards (3,554). He also ranks second in program history with 34 touchdown receptions, too.

Prior to this year’s NFL Draft, the Boston Herald reported that Muirhead, Voegeli and Moores, along with Assumption College’s Nick Haag and Boston College’s Jim Noel worked out with the Falcons, Patriots and New Orleans Saints.

On Monday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers began a much-needed housecleaning. They fired head coach Raheem Morris. All of his assistants were canned, too.

It was pretty clear to, well, everyone that Morris had lost this team. A promising 4-2 season ended up as a 4-12 disappointment. Ten consecutive losses – many of them of the blowout variety, including Sunday’s hilarious, (and I mean that sarcastically) 45-24 drubbing at the hands of the Falcons. The score was 42-0 before halftime.

The 10-game losing streak matches the team’s longest ever in a single season, back in 1977. Over the final ten games, the Bucs gave up 31 or more points seven times.

Morris went 17-31 in his three seasons, and that includes last year’s surprising 10-6 campaign.

The defense allowed 494 points this season. Yes, that’s dead-last in the NFL. No other Tampa Bay team has allowed as much. They gave up an average of 156 yards per game on the ground. Yes, that’s dead-last in the NFL. They were third from the bottom in total yards allowed per game, (394.) Only New England and Green Bay ranked lower in that category – no joking.

Quarterback Josh Freemanthrew only six interceptions last year. This year? 22.

On the subject of turnovers, guess where the Bucs rank in that category? Yes, dead-last.

Other NFL News:

* The St. Louis Rams fired their head coach Steve Spagnuolo, and general manager Bill Devaney. The Rams went 2-14 this season, as well as tied for the worst record in the NFL with the Indianapolis Colts.

* Speaking of the Colts, they’re shaking things up as well. They’ve fired vice chairman Bill Polian and general manager Chris Polian. Indy, like St. Louis, won only two games this season, and will have the first pick in the NFL draft.